Manchester City are set to cut their losses on Kalvin Phillips amid his dreadful loan spell at West Ham.
Phillips joined the Hammers on loan in the January transfer window as he sought to end his dismal time at City. He arrived at the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2022 following a £45million transfer from Leeds.
The move to City has not worked out though, with the midfielder failing to convince boss Pep Guardiola to hand him a starting spot. That lack of game-time led to the temporary move to the Hammers in the winter.
But he has continued to struggle and has been in and out of the team under David Moyes , culminating in an ugly exchange with supporters last weekend. And his parent club are now preparing to take drastic action when the transfer window reopens in the summer.
According to the Daily Mail, City will put Phillips up for sale at the end of the season. It is claimed that City are hoping to recoup just £30m from their original fee that they paid to Leeds to secure Phillips.
But there is said to be a ‘reluctance’ from Phillips’ potential suitors to match those demands. In fact, there is said to be a growing concern that such a price would not represent good value for money given his recent performance levels.
One team certainly interested in him is his former club Leeds, who are hoping to get promoted to the top flight this season. If they do so, they look likely to make a move for Phillips, though a price tag of £30m could yet price them out.
Phillips’ move to West Ham went from bad to worse on Saturday, when he came on as a sub in the defeat to Newcastle. The midfielder was brought on with the Hammers 3-1 up, though quickly gave away a controversial penalty to let the Magpies back into the game.
Phillips’ nightmare loan spell at West Ham went from bad to worse in the defeat to Newcastle
The hosts went on to claim a thrilling 4-3 win, before Phillips was seen swearing at a group of fans who called him “useless”. While the 28-year-old is struggling badly, his boss Moyes is continuing to back him.
“Kalvin’s a human being and can do things which we all do at different times. What he needs is support behind him, people to help him, and we’re going to stand with him help him as much as we possibly can,” Moyes said on Monday.
“Obviously, we need all out supporters to give all our players, whoever it is, their support. He’s fine, he’s back training and we’ve all moved on from the weekend. We’ve got a big game coming up and we’re getting ready for that now.
“Kalvin Phillips is a really good player, an international player, and I do believe he is an excellent footballer. And I do believe we can still make something out of the time we’ve got left with him here.”.
